The present invention relates to an operating method for a computer network having a plurality of ports connected to production machines.
The following discussion of related art is provided to assist the reader in understanding the advantages of the invention and is not to be construed as an admission that this related art is prior art to this invention.
Frequently, a plurality of automated production machines is operated in industrial operations. These production machines are frequently standardized. They in particular in each case comprise a plurality of intelligent units, which communicate with one another via a local network of the production machine. For example, a production machine of this kind comprises at least one automation device, a user interface and a sensor-actuator interface. Frequently, there is even a plurality of input/output modules, which communicate via the local network of the production machine with at least the automation device, in many cases additionally also with the user interface. Machines of this kind are frequently repeatedly constructed and operated in the same configuration.
To operate a machine of this kind it is possible to operate said machine in isolation (isolated operation). In this case, the internal, technical data structure of the production machines can be identical. Although, it is in particular necessary—based on the internal network of the production machine—for the addresses of the different intelligent units to be different from one another, with each new production machine, they can be used again with this new production machine.
Different problems occur in isolated operation. In particular, no remote access to the respective production machine is possible. Service and maintenance—for example data backup or a software update—always have to be performed on the spot on the respective production machine (“you have to go there”). Therefore, known practice from the prior art is to expand the local network of the production machine by a network connection. Such a case first enables remote access. This relates not only to service and maintenance but also to normal operation of the production machines. In particular, it is also possible to relocate the user interface externally in a component outside the production machine and in this way to control the production machine from outside. All that remains on the production machine is the “naked” display including an input facility such as, for example, a keyboard or a touchscreen combined with the display or the like. On the other hand, editing of production machine data, including the formatting in which the edited data is visualized, takes place at least partially in the user interface which has been relocated outside. This user interface outside the production machine is usually called a virtual user interface.
Commissioning a production machine of this kind with a virtual user interface that has been relocated outside is much more complex that commissioning a production machine with an internal user interface. This is because in particular technical adjustment is required to match addresses to the environment in which said production machine is put into operation. Therefore, correct integration in a computer network outside the production machine is required.
Although automatic integration of intelligent units in a computer network is known, unlike the case with normal IT operation, such as occurs for example in offices and computer centers, in machinery and plant engineering in industrial automation it is not single intelligent units, but groups of intelligent units that are added to an existing computer network, namely all intelligent units of a production machine of this kind simultaneously. This requires other procedures than those in normal IT operation. In particular, it is not only necessary to integrate the individual intelligent unit in the existing computer network, but it is also additionally necessary to retain relationships within the group.
In the prior art, production machines of this kind are programmed by means of one single engineering project. The result is series machines with the same internal IP addresses and a local user interface. The engineering project assigns IP addresses to all subscribing intelligent units from a preconfigured pool of IP addresses. Alternatively, the engineering project assigns IP addresses for a configuration with a virtual user interface.
It is frequently furthermore necessary for the production machines to communicate via a computer network with a uniform, general higher-ranking facility for the production machines. To enable communication of this kind, it is necessary to adapt the IP addresses of the production machines. This relates to both the IP addresses of the internal intelligent units of the respective production machine and the IP addresses of the external intelligent units assigned to the relevant production machines, in particular the virtual user interface. In the prior art, this adjustment is frequently performed manually. Hence, adjustment is very labor-intensive and susceptible to error. However, also known are tools that can be used to change IP addresses on internal intelligent units in groups. These tools are machine-based. They are not able to detect virtual intelligent units.
It is, in principle, possible to automate the manual procedure. However, this requires the manufacturer of the production machine to have corresponding extensive expertise in IP and virtualization. If, furthermore, the production machine is installed in different virtualization environments for different customers, the machine manufacturer has to have expertise in all virtualization environments. On the other hand, the core competence of a machine manufacturer is naturally based on the construction of production machines, not on virtualization solutions.
During operation, production machines are regularly backed up. Different concepts are used for this. Archiving of acquired data and programs to be processed can be organized in different ways.
As mentioned above, in practice, frequently a plurality of automated production machines are present in one and the same industrial operation. Herein, frequently in each case one virtual user interface is implemented for a plurality of—advantageously all—production machines. Furthermore, the production machines communicate with a higher-ranking facility via a computer network. For example, they receive production tasks from the higher-ranking facility or send confirmations of operations or errors that occur to the higher-ranking facility. Maintenance and repair is also frequently simplified. The virtual user interfaces can, for example, be implemented in a computer cluster.
However, on the other hand, commissioning of a further production machine and particularly integration thereof in the existing computer network is difficult. In particular, there are significant difficulties in incorporating a new, additional, production machine in the existing computer network via which production machines already in production communicate and putting it into operation in this computer network while simultaneously reliably ensuring that any problems and other problems during commissioning do not affect normal communication of production machines already in operation. Therefore, it would be advantageous to be able first to include a further production machine in an existing group, but to be able to operate it in isolation and only later—following successful commissioning—to integrate and incorporate it in the existing computer network.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to address these problems and to obviate other prior art shortcomings by implementing a process sequence, such as acceptance in the existing computer network, thereafter commissioning via the computer network without the risk of negative impacts on the production machines already communicating via the computer network and, finally, complete integrating in the communication structure.